A Place As Smooth As The Singing By It's Namesake
Written: Apr 08 '06 (Updated Apr 08 '06)
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Pros: Beautiful setting, fine service, excellent food!
Cons: Reservations needed for prime times
The Bottom Line: This is our present place of choice for special occasions or celebrations.
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| tennis_player's Full Review: Bing Crosby's |
Bing Crosby is a beautifully designed Piano Bar and Restaurant located near the heart of the downtown retail district of trendy Walnut Creek. It is beautifully and plushly, furnished in heavy, oversize, upholstered booths, beautiful, dark cherry wood tables with heavy, soft upholstered chairs complete with heavy, white tablecloths and matching fine linen napkins. Place settings and silverware are all heavy, distinctive and compliment the rest of the decor. The lighting is indirect, soft and dim - very intimate and romantic. It has a very "clubby" feel to the main dining room. The bar area has a beautiful grand piano and dark wooden floors with the same intimate feeling. The live piano music carries throughout the entire bar and dining room and is a very nice touch. The walls are covered with large photos of Bing Crosby performing or playing golf or socializing with his friends. There are also collections and momentos to view, such as his golf clubs, pipes and his single Oscar, These all help to establish the beautiful place a place that Bing Crosby, himself, might have wanted to call his own club! It is beautifully done. The Crosby theme is not too commercial and is sincere in its homage to the famed crooner. It does evoke feelings of golf-course casual but with a touch of elegance and glamor of Hollywood.
We were a party of four and we arrived on time for our 7 PM reservation. We were cordially greeted by 2 young, attractive hostesses and escorted to our table along the side with the smoked glass, floor-to-ceiling picture windows that outlook onto the busy street traffic of downtown Walnut Creek. As we were being seated, the wait staff helped us get settled and introduced themselves in the process. Our server was Angela and our bus person was Edwardo. Both were young, attractive and very well trained in their respective duties. Both performed their jobs with enthusiasm and professionalism seldom seen these days. Edwardo places napkins in our laps and Angela provides us with multi-page menus bound into a heavy, brocade covered fabric - very elegant, indeed. The wine list is similarly bound in matching material but of a slightly smaller size to avoid confusing it with a menu.
The menu is fairly simple but with a broad appeal. Page 1 were appetizers, soups and salad. Page 2 were the main entrees. There were numerous choices of appetizers, both hot and cold and ranged from $8 to $12. There were 11 entrees listed in addition to their fresh "Catch of the Day" and another daily special - Prime Rib. The 11 entrees shown below will give you a good idea of the culinary range and pricing.
LAMB THREE WAYS
Grilled chop, roasted sirloin and Braised "Shepherds Pie." $28
GRILLED ATLANTIC SALMON WITH CITRUS BEURRE BLANC
with Wild Mushroom Risotto and Roasted Vegetable Ragout. $22
PAN ROASTED DUCK BREAST AND CONFIT OF LEG WITH ORANGE HUCKLEBERRY SAUCE
with Crimson and Beluga Lentil Pilaf with Sauteed Baby Vegetables. $26
THE CROSBY CLAM BAKE
Baked clams, Lobster, Mussels, Potatoes, Andoulle Sausage and Corn in a Savory Broth. $28
GRILLED FILLET MIGNON WITH BLACK TRUFFLE DEMI-GLACE
with Braised Haricot Vert and Spinach with Crispy Potato Cannellonis. $34
FIVE PEPPERCORN CRUSTED AHI TUNA WITH GARLIC SHOESTRING POTATOES
and Braised Winter Greens, Brandy Cream and Glazed Cippollini Onions. $26
VEAL SCALOPPINI WITH LEMON-CAPER SAUCE
with Roasted Tomato and Polenta Napoleon with Parmesan Crisp. $25
PANCETTA WRAPPED MONKFISH WITH CRISPY SWEET BREADS
with Braised Leeks and Trio of Sauces. $26
BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS
with Celeriac Puree and Horseradish Whole Grain Mustard Sauce. $26
ROASTED HERB BASTED CHICKEN
with Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus and Natural Jus. $19
ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH SAUTEED DAY BOAT SCALLOPS AND ROCK SHRIMP
with roasted Spaghetti Squash and Peppers with Basil and Citrus Sauce. $23
There is a notation at the bottom of the menu "VEGETARIAN CHOICES ARE AVAILABLE."
My wife and I decided to split one of the salads, Ruby Grapefruit & Roasted Beet Salad, Goat Cheese, Greens and Tomato with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing. $8. The other couple split a Crab Cake. $12. I ordered the Lamb Three Ways and my wife chose the Veal Scaloppini. The other couple chose the Prime Rib and, like my wife, the Veal Scaloppini.
Our grapefruit/roasted beet salad was really good. I would have that, again, in a heartbeat! The greens were perfectly coated - evidence of care and experience in tossing salads. My wife dislikes overly dressed salads and I dislike underdressed versions. It came from the kitchen already split - a nice touch. Our friends crab cake was beautiful. They reported it to be very nice with little filler and lots of crab. They had an outstanding sauce that was served on the side. It, too, was split in the kitchen for them. I felt this was a nice indication of their refined service and food presentation levels.
We had brought 2 bottles of Italian red wine. Unfortunately, I did not note what the corkage fee was. It was expertly opened and poured starting with the lighter of the two and finishing with the heavier-bodied one. both were excellent and were perfect partners to our entrees.
My lamb dish was outstanding. The roasted sirloin was tender, flavorful, and moist. The braised Shepherds Pie was shredded lamb shank placed into a ring mold with a scoop of garlic mashed potatoes placed on top and the ring was removed. It was excellent! The lamb shank was very tender and full flavored. The grilled chop was outstanding. It was medium rare - just the way I ordered it and it had a beautiful caramelized crust with wonderful taste, texture and was very tender and moist. All three lambs were outstanding versions of each cooking method! Because I like lamb, I was very impressed!
Both my wife and our friend, Jeanne, loved their veal scaloppini. The veal was very tender - obviously milk fed with an outstanding sauce. This sauce was so good, we all took fresh dinner rolls and wiped their plates clean of this sauce! Dick, Jeanne's husband raved about his prime rib. He had his choice of creamed or freshly grated horseradish. He asked for both and he liked both of them. He reports his prime rib was very tender with superb flavor and devoid of any large pieces of fat running through the meat.
We finished by sharing a single dessert - Coffee & Doughnuts. This is a lot more sophisticated that what the title reveals. It was 4, small, freshly made cinnamon-sugar beignets served with moca ice cream and cappuccino in a bowl formed by thin dark chocolate. I just had to try it because it sounded so luscious. It was great. We all finished that off in a hurry. We finished our fantastic dinner with coffee.
It was an extremely lovely event - fine food and wine with good friends and seated and served in a warm, intimate environment. I cannot remember a better dining experience in recent memory!
We split our bill in half. Each half came to $99.46, including tax and corkage fee but excluding tip. We gave them a generous tip since we were so pleased with everything. This was a 2.5-hour dinner that went by in a blink of the eye. Everything was so well timed that we never ever felt rushed nor waited for anything. We all commented on how we had paid for far more expensive dinners and had not received a good value for that money spent. Here, we were fully satisfied and we will return!
We highly recommend Bing Crosby's for special occasions! It's a bit pricey but well worth it!
Thank you Megugrrrl for adding this site!
Jim
UPDATE, 04/08/06
We enjoyed our first visit so well, we went back on our youngest son's birthday last week. It was just as good as we remembered on the first visit!
Also, we had a different wait staff. Again, they were really neat young people. They seem to assign one waiter and a bus person as a team to the table. We enjoyed both of them, just as we did on our first visit.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Menu changes about every 2 - 3 weeks to take advantage of the best and freshest seasonal produce and seafood.
Best Suited For: Friends
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